Band formed in Cape Town in 1987 for the musical Cape Town: David Kramer (vocals), Taliep Petersen (vocals, banjo), Issie Ariefdien (guitar, bass, vocals), Paul Petersen (vocals, guitar, bass), Onyx Phillips (keyboards), Monty Webber (drums, percussion), Madeegha Anders (vocals).
Released the album Cape Town in 1988. Original songs composed by David Kramer and Taliep Petersen. All original lyrics written by David Kramer. Saxophone on the album was performed by Basil Coetzee, Robbie Jansen and Victor Kula.
Western Cape actor and singer who performed in many musicals including David Kramer and Taliep Peterson’s District Six (1986). He played the role of the hawker, Uncle Henry, and sang the songs “Watermelon” and “Heart of District Six”. He died in 2009.
Emerged as a satirical singer songwriter on the Western Cape folk scene in the mid-1970s.
His first album, Bakgat, was released in 1981. In the same year he released the immensely popular The Story of Blokkies Joubert which spawned the bestselling singles ‘Hak Hom Blokkies’ and ‘The Royal Hotel’.
A lot of his fan base was unaware of his satirical intent. He carried on in a similar vein with top selling albums and singles as well as a comic role in Volkswagen car television advertisements.
In 1986, with the country in political turmoil, Kramer re-assessed his satirical output and decided that it was time to release an album which provided a more serious and down-the-line critique of society. Baboondogs was not well received by his traditional fan base but gained him further respect in liberal circles.
After 1986 Kramer concentrated more on writing and producing musicals such as District Six (1986) and Kat and the Kings (1997). He was also involved in the Karoo Kitaar Blues project (2002), in which he searched for musical talent in the Karoo region in particular.
